Mary Powers, 2013 (Credit: Steve Puppe Photography)

It is with a heavy heart that we announce that Mary Powers passed away earlier this month, after a courageous battle with cancer.

As the third longest tenured employee of Houston’s in Kansas City to date, Mary was instrumental in the growth and development of our Kansas City operations. She started with Houston’s in December 2011, as Janitorial Support. Her willingness to go above and beyond, and her caring nature for everyone meant it wasn’t long before she was doing a little bit of everything. Brenda Hart, our former KC Warehouse Manager who hired Mary, says, “I used to call her Stretch, because it sometimes seemed like she was being pulled in every direction.”

The various roles that Mary worked and the many hats that she wore included Reception, Warehouse Operations, UPC, Inventory Control, and Returns. Robert Jones, KC Warehouse Manager, adds, “Perhaps the most significant unofficial role

Mary Powers & Robert Jones at the 2016 holiday party

that Mary enjoyed was as our ‘Culture Queen.’ She was the driving force behind all of our employee initiatives including Safety Committee, holiday parties, employee recognition programs, and month-end meetings.” Mary’s contribution throughout each department in Kansas City has been tremendous and she had an impact on not only everyone who worked here in Kansas City, but anyone who came through our doors. She will be greatly missed.

To honor her last wishes, her family will not be having a public funeral for her. Instead, she will have a small family gathering at her father’s farm, where her sons will spread her ashes. Mary’s husband, Shawn, will join us for a quiet memorial at the Kansas City warehouse at a later date.

Our thoughts continue to go out to Mary’s family, and to our Houston’s family in Kansas City.

The post Remembering Mary appeared first on Houston's Blog.

Robert “Bob” Schock
September 6, 1959 – November 30, 2016

Robert “Bob” Shock

Our KC family has been grieving the sudden loss of Bob Schock. Bob began his time at Houston’s in 2015 and was assigned the responsibility of order picking. Bob was a hard worker and everyone around him cared about his welfare and made sure he was ok. Bob loved to adopt stray cats and they meant everything to him. He had no family residing in the area so aside from his stray cats; Houston’s was his family.

A gathering was held on December 8, 2016 at Atkinson Funeral Home in Harrisonville, Missouri. Around thirteen Houston’s employees were in attendance. This is a true testament to how the employees cared for Bob and the impact his death had on their lives. A moment of silence and a toast was given in honor of Bob at the Houston’s Christmas Party.

Our thoughts continue to go out to our KC family.

Dorothy Plum
December 25, 1947 – October 31, 2016

Dorothy is the wife of H-Trans driver Bill Plum. They were married in 1991 and lived in the Kansas City area so that Dorothy could be close to her family. Dorothy was a licensed cosmetologist who had owned a salon in Alexander but in later years, she moved to the medical field as a transcriptionist and administrative assistant until her retirement in 2010. Dorothy was also an accomplished singer and performed at weddings, in church, and even traveled with a gospel group.

Services were held on November 12, 2016 at Fitzgerald Funeral Home in Dodge City, Kansas. Memorial contributions were made to Northcare Hospice and Servants of Mary – Ministers to the Sick.

Bill – We express our condolences to you and your family.

By Guest Writer: Melissa Anderson; Houston’s Director of Pricing & Programs

The post In Memoriam… appeared first on Houston's Blog.